Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire

Most of this book was written by Satoshi Kanazawa, not Alan Miller who sadly passed away during its composition. Either way, it is an excellent source of information about evolutionary psychology. Kanazawa may not be politically correct, but he hits the mark almost every time. Were there a few points that I disagreed with? Sure. Did he draw a few conclusions that may require further investigation? Probably. But the bulk of this book draws conclusions that make abundant sense to me.The best thing about this work is that it's so easy to read. The language is perfectly understandable for the average literate American adult. I recommend reading each chapter in order, but you don't have to. Most of the chapters are self-contained units and Kanazawa reviews key concepts from time to time throughout.Most of the book deals with the central concerns of evolutionary psychology, namely dating, mating, relations between the sexes, and the evolutionary basis for human behavior. So if you're uncomfortable with this topic, then obviously this book won't be for you. Also be aware that this book was written during the peak "War on Terror" years during the mid-2000s, and so some of the political references may seem outdated for readers in the 2020s. (This is such a minor issue, but if you're going to write a review you have to let people know what to expect.) I found literally every page of it to be fascinating regardless, and I plan to purchase other works by Kanazawa soon.

This was the first book I ever read on Evolutionary Psychology and it started a whole new interest in my life that explained so much of what I saw around me in the world. Read at your own risk! ;)Like Freakonomics you can read this book by chapter in any order.

WHAT I LIKED:1. The book is written in an easy-to-read style. That, and the fact that the topics are both interesting and controversial, makes the book a quick and enjoyable read.2. I like the evolutionary psychology approach in general, since it proposes actual mechanisms behind why people think and behave how they do.3. I liked that the book pointed out some facets of human sexual behavior that still aren't well-understood, and should be targeted for future research. For instance, why most people in advanced nations choose to have way fewer children than they can financially support, even though reproductive behavior is supposed to be unconsciously guided by a desire to have as many children and grand-children as possible.4. A lot of this book's reviewers criticize it for being sexist, racist, ageist, etc. I think those accusations are unfounded--the author repeatedly says that he's simply explaining what IS, not what SHOULD BE. I appreciate that the author explores topics often considered taboo and offers explanations that go beyond "white people brainwash everybody" or "men are jerks."WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE1. The book is a bit over-confident with its application of evolutionary psychology. On a lot of topics, the author examines a strange feature of human behavior, explains how it might make sense given the insights of evolutionary psychology, cites a few pieces of data in support of its position and against the cultural position, and then moves on. So the book doesn't definitively "prove" very much, either by thoroughly supporting its position with a lot of evidence or by thoroughly debunking its opponents with a lot of evidence.Which is fine, because the book addresses a lot of topics in a small amount of space, and thus can't explore every topic super in-depth. But the author probably should have adapted his "evolutionary psychology can explain pretty much everything" rhetoric accordingly.2. I found his explanation of the evolutionary origin of religion unconvincing. Given that super-religious people have WAY more children on average than non-religious people, I feel like there's a more compelling evolutionary explanation than people just being risk-averse.3. Like some of the other reviewers, I think his discussion of why blonde hair and blue eyes are considered more attractive was unconvincing. Given that non-Western peoples didn't encounter blondes until recently, how could they have evolved a preference for them?The evidence for a evolutionary preference for young, thin-waisted, buxom women was more compelling, so he probably should have just stuck with that.CONCLUSIONThis book is a fun, easy read that examines a lot of interesting topics through the lens of evolutionary psychology. Unfortunately, partly because this book is an introductory book aimed at a popular audience, and partly because hard evidence is rare for some of these topics, sometimes his explanations aren't super well-supported. But overall, I enjoyed and benefited from the book.

I stumbled across this book working at the Vancouver Washington library Booknook and bought it for a dollar. I loved it so much I couldn't part with it but I wanted my beautiful daughter to have a copy so I ordered it on Amazon and had it shipped to her for Christmas. Kanazawa and Miller did a superb job explaining Evolutionary Psychology, the only theory that explains the entire spectrum of human behaviors. Want to know why being Gay doesn't necessarily mean you will be extinct? Want to know why it's dangerous for female store employees to heap too much attention on male customers? This Q&A book explains it all, and the writing is easy to understand and crystal clear.

Hard to put this book down

Well written and a must read for those who want tounderstand why we do the things we do

Ottima lettura

Very interesting and well written book about evolutionary psychology, especially easy to understand for people who are new to the topic.

Amazing book! Great insight to make questions we have always thought about but never asked and some never thought about but just as important.I highly recommend this amazing book